1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to paper towel holders and, more particularly, to a portable paper towel holder with suction cups for mounting at the user's convenience.
2. Description of the Related Art
Paper towels have found use in just about every household. Their convenience, low-cost and ability to clean up just about any mess or perform any cleaning task makes them valuable indeed. While usually found in kitchens, mounted to a permanent, dispensing holder, they do have uses elsewhere. However, when they are used elsewhere, they are often used loosely, without a dispenser. This often results in wasted product when more is removed than necessary or the entire roll is dropped and becomes contaminated by liquid or dirt along the edges. Also, many tasks are performed at the work site, rather than at a static location. These locations include boats, camping, motor vehicle work, garages, work shops, gardening tables and the like. It is not economically feasible to provide permanent paper towel holders at all of the locations. Even if it was, the paper towel holder would often get in the way of the work process itself. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which paper towels can be dispensed at many locations using a semipermanent dispenser that can be removed and reattached easily. The development of the Portable Paper Towel Holder with Suction Cup Mount fulfills this need.
In the related art, there exists patents for various portable paper towel holders/dispensers. Most notably are the type whereby a roll of conventional paper towels is slid over a vertically oriented shaft mounted on a base. One need to only pick up the entire assembly and carry it with them. This design has one major drawback in that it has no means to mount it to a surface. This can be very inconvenient. The present invention mounts a roll of conventional paper towels on a horizontally oriented spindle for dispensing as is customary. It also includes a suction cup means for temporarily attaching it to virtually any flat surface, and a spring loaded or similar bar across the top of the towels which then prevents the towels from unrolling prematurely all greatly increase the convenience to the user.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related:
U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Issue Date 5,490,625 Myatt Feb. 13, 1996 5,172,966 Myatt Dec. 22, 1992 5,104,054 Latham Apr. 14, 1992 4,690,345 Cotey Sep. 1, 1987 5,244,220 Cortez Sep. 14, 1993 4,030,676 Bardsley June 21, 1977 D 326,203 Butler May 19, 1992 D 253,265 Miller Oct. 30, 1979